State Fund Safety Blog – Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
October 20, 2016
A fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Manhattan in 1911 killed 146 people and was the deadliest industrial disaster the city had ever experienced.
The fire started when a trash bin filled with hundreds of pounds of excess clothing scraps caught fire. Employees were unable to escape because fire and exit doors had been locked to prevent theft.
Today the risk of fire in industrial or manufacturing properties is still a serious concern. Each year, U.S. fire departments respond to an average of 37,000 fires, with annual losses estimated at 18 civilian deaths, 279 injuries, and $1 billion in property damage.
There’s a lot we can learn from the Triangle Shirtwaist disaster, which eventually led to the creation of the workers’ compensation system in New York and then the rest of the country. Read our Safety Blog for tips to help reduce risk and prevent fires in the workplace.
###
Established in 1914, by the state legislature, State Fund has operated for more than 100 years, is California’s largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance, and a vital asset to California businesses. State Fund supports California’s entrepreneurial spirit and plays a stabilizing role in the economy by providing fairly priced workers’ compensation insurance, making California workplaces safe, and restoring injured workers.
